Volvo Cars launched their new compact SUV in 2018, the Volvo XC40. Malaysia is getting the XC40 in T5 AWD R-Design spec and it is the much anticipated smaller version of the XC60 and XC90 SUVs.  

The Volvo XC40 is the winner of the 2018 European Car of the year awards. This is the first overall title for Volvo as all three of their SUV models the XC90, XC60 and now the XC40 have all won the Car of the year awards. 

Aside from that Volvo XC40 is also the titleholder for the 2018 Japan Car of the Year Awards, 2018 Carsales Car of the Year and 2019 Irish Car of the Year.

The XC40 stands at a length of 4,425 mm, width of 1,863 mm, height of 1,655 mm, wheelbase of 2,702 mm and weighs 1,704 kg.

The XC40 exudes a front look that is boxy in shape with a scalloped section near the hood and a gloss black grille. Paired with LED fog lights in black trim finish that is positioned at the bottom of the bumper which gives the front of the vehicle a sturdy look overall. 

The rear of the car exhibits a clean and simple layout. The rear number plate is positioned lower on the bumper instead of on the hatch, it emphasizes the Volvo brand which is situated in the centre. The XC40 also gets a gloss black floating-like roof edge spoiler and bumpers with integrated dual exhaust system. It also gets rear fog lights positioned at both ends of the bumper.   

The headlamps feature the signature ‘Thor’s Hammer’ LED daytime running lights. The headlamps are full-LED units with active high beam function, active bending lights and automatic headlights levelling system.

The tail lamps are full LED units which come with flashing brake lights and are in a boomerang-like shape.

It is power adjusted and power folded, with turn-indicator that is finished in a sleek gloss black coating. 

Equipped with 19-inch five-double spoke matte black diamond cut alloys with 235/50 tyres. 

The sporty theme carries on inside with R-Design tread plates and black headlining with a minimalist style dashboard overall. The inlays resemble a fishnet inspired design and vertical slits for air-conditioning vents which is pleasant looking. 

The XC40 gets a 12.3-inch instrument cluster with adaptive digital display. Vehicle’s infotainment can be easily adjusted with the shortcut controls located at the 3-spoke sports leather steering wheel. 

The XC40 seats display the R-Design logo and are finished in leather and Nubuck upholstery. The front seats are fitted with side bolsters to hug the front occupants in fast corners. It also has memory settings function, power-adjustable functions and also 4-way power-adjustable lumbar support. 

Front occupants have no issues with space as the Volvo XC40 has generous headroom, leg room and shoulder room. As for the rear, it offers good headroom and legs can easily slip under the front seats. Elbow space would be severely limited if three people are squeezed into the second row as the seats have been shortened to allow for cubby holes at both ends.

It has practical little spaces such as slots for credit cards in the dashboard, spaces to store loose change or device charging cables, phone holder, space in the centre console to hold a box of tissues, storage space under the driver’s seat and even the outside of the decent size glove box has an extending hook to secure a takeaway meal or a small grocery bag. 

There are 4 cup holders. 2 in the front centre console and 2 in the rear seat armrest. As for the bottle holders, it has 4 and is located at the front and back door side panels. 

The XC40 gets 2 USB ports in the front, a USB-C type port in the rear end tunnel console and a wireless charging pad giving the occupants the flexibility to charge multiple devices at the same time.

The XC40 gets 460 litres of boot space and is expandable up to 1,336 litres with the rear seats folded flat to the floor. Apart from that, the boot has dividing panels with hooks and a hidden locked storage compartment under the boot floor for storing valuables.

The Volvo XC40 gets Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Pilot Assist Semi-Autonomous Drive, City Safety features includes Collision Avoidance and Mitigation with Intersection support Pedestrian, Cyclist and Large Animal Detection with front and rear collision warning. Driver Alert Control (DAC), Lane Keeping Aid (LKA), Run-Off Road Mitigation with Road Edge Detection, Oncoming Lane Mitigation, Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), Blind Spot Info System (BLIS) with Steer Assist, Cross Traffic Alert (CTA) with Auto Brake. 

Passive safety includes Seat belt detection with Graphical Indicator for all seats and Seat belt pre-tensioners. As for airbags, the whole cabin is covered with 6 airbags in total, dual front, dual side, driver and passenger knee airbags, full-length inflatable curtains (IC), Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS) for Front Seats, Post-Collision Auto Braking and Unlocking and there is also an Isofix child seat attachment points on the outer rear seats and day and night rear view mirror.  

Five drive modes available - Eco, Comfort, Individual, Dynamic and Off-road. 

The Volvo XC40 gets a Sensus Connect system with 9-inch portrait integrated colour touchscreen with Sensus navigation, Bluetooth hands-free system with audio streaming, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, voice control and wireless charging pad.

With Pilot Assist Semi-Autonomous Drive, LKA, adaptive cruise control and the city safety features, driving will be less fatigue and driver’s alertness will also increase.

The Volvo XC40 is equipped with a high performance dashboard-integrated amplification system that has a power output of 250W. It comes with 8 speakers and a subwoofer. This ingenuity from Volvo Cars is the world's first air-ventilated dashboard-mounted audio system. 

The Volvo XC40 T5 AWD is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder Drive-E engine which produces 252 hp and 350 Nm of torque from 1,800 to 4,800 rpm.

It has an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. 

Power is sent to all 4 wheels. 

The Volvo XC40 can complete the century sprint in 6.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 230 km/h.

It has the combined fuel consumption of 7.7 litres for every 100km, which is 13km/l.

It has dual-zone electronic climate control system, keyless-entry with push-to-start button, rain sensor with tunnel detection, Pilot Assist with Driver Assist System, Park Assist front and rear,  rear view Camera, automatically dimmed inner and outer rear view mirror, illuminated vanity mirror, driver and front passenger, power operated tailgate with hands-free operation and a wireless charging pad.

There’s a rear air vent located at the centre, behind the front occupant’s arm rest.

The Volvo XC40 being a city car that it is, has a good turning circle and makes parking easy in tight surroundings. However, the rear cabin space doesn't offer much thigh support and the seatback is rather upright. 

It has a good sound insulation, with its road noise mostly muted as the suspension level out bumps well.